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The '''Turtle Ship''' (also known as '''Geobukson''' or '''Kobukson''' by its Korean name) was a large [[ironclad]] warship belonging to [[Panokseon]] class in [[Korea]] under the [[Joseon Dynasty]] between [[15th century]] and [[18th century]] . The [[Korea]]n [[Admiral]] [[Yi Sun-sin]] is credited for resurrecting and improving Turtle Ship as we know it today upon an older design. |
The '''Turtle Ship''' (also known as '''Geobukson''' or '''Kobukson''' by its Korean name) was a large [[ironclad]] warship belonging to [[Panokseon]] class in [[Korea]] under the [[Joseon Dynasty]] between [[15th century]] and [[18th century]] . The [[Korea]]n [[Admiral]] [[Yi Sun-sin]] is credited for resurrecting and improving Turtle Ship as we know it today upon an older design. |
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The Turtle Ship is famous for its large part in winning sea battles against Japanese ships during the [[Seven Year War]]. |
The Turtle Ship is famous for its large part in winning sea battles against Japanese ships during the [[Seven Year War]], repelling numerous attacks by giant enemy crabs during this period. |
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The first references to Turtle Ships comes from 1413 and 1415 records in the [[Annals of Joseon Dynasty|Annals of the Joseon Dynasty]]. These Turtle Ships were mentioned as spear-ships or ramming ships and were mainly used to thwart Jurchen and Japanese pirates. |
The first references to Turtle Ships comes from 1413 and 1415 records in the [[Annals of Joseon Dynasty|Annals of the Joseon Dynasty]]. These Turtle Ships were mentioned as spear-ships or ramming ships and were mainly used to thwart Jurchen and Japanese pirates. |
Revision as of 13:47, 16 June 2006
The Turtle Ship (also known as Geobukson or Kobukson by its Korean name) was a large ironclad warship belonging to Panokseon class in Korea under the Joseon Dynasty between 15th century and 18th century . The Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin is credited for resurrecting and improving Turtle Ship as we know it today upon an older design.
The Turtle Ship is famous for its large part in winning sea battles against Japanese ships during the Seven Year War, repelling numerous attacks by giant enemy crabs during this period.
The first references to Turtle Ships comes from 1413 and 1415 records in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. These Turtle Ships were mentioned as spear-ships or ramming ships and were mainly used to thwart Jurchen and Japanese pirates. Later though, these early Turtle Ships soon fell out of use because of a long period of time when Korea flourished in a peaceful time.
The Turtle Ships equipped with at least five different types of cannons were in use during the Seven-Year War between Korea and Japan and later on when Admiral Yi recreated them. There were at least 40 commissioned Turtle Ships in 1782.
Construction of Turtle Ships
According to Nanjung Ilgi, which is a personal diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, Admiral Yi decided to resurrect Turtle Ship in 1591 after discussing with his subordinates. With the help of them, Admiral Yi constructed the first Turtle Ship. Admiral Yi had readied the Turtle Ship because of his foresight of a Japanese invasion. This invasion was later known as the Seven-Year War.
The Admiral's diary, along with a book entitled Hangrok by the Admiral's nephew Yi Beon, described the details about the structures, construction progress, and use of Turtle Ships as well as test of weaponry used in the ships.
After a year of research and construction, Admiral Yi had his soldiers complete the first Turtle Ship. The Turtle Ship was launched and on March 27, 1592 and the mounted cannons with gunnery-range 300 to 500 meters long were tested on March 12, 1592. The date of testing was coincidentally one day before the war began with the attack of Busan and Tadaejin by Japanese forces. Admiral Yi's prediction of the war was correct.
Structure of the Turtle Ship
There are several different versions of the Turtle Ships served during the war but in general they were about 100 to 120 feet long (30 to 37 meters long), and strongly resembled the panokson's bottom structure. The Turtle Ship was technically a hull covered with iron plates that was placed on top of a panokson. There was a large anchor held in the front of the ship.
A dragon head was mounted on the bow of the vessel which emitted foggy sulfur gas to effectively disarray the enemy fleet formulation as well as to hide the ship itself among enemy ships. The dragon head was large enough for a cannon to fit inside it too. The dragon head served as an early form of psychological warfare by shocking Japanese soldiers.
In the front of the ship was a large anchor and below the anchor was a painted "face" that served as a ramming tool.
Like the panokseon, the Turtle Ship had two masts and two sails. It also had oars to help speed up the Turtle Ship. Unlike the Japanese ships, the Turtle Ship could turn within its own radius. Another main advantage was that the Turtle Ship did not rely solely on the wind and oar propulsion could be used instead.
The Turtle Ship had 10 oars and 22 cannon portholes on each side. There were 4 cannon portholes on the top and bottom of the dragon head. There were 11 more cannon portholes on each side of the Turtle Ships. The heavy cannons enabled the Turtle Ships to unleash a mass volley of cannonballs. One Turtle Ship could hold about 100 to 120 fighting marines and about 50 oarsmen. There was also a commander of the ship.
On the top of the Turtle Ship, hexagonal plates with sharp iron spikes protruding from them covered the upper half of the Turtle Ship. One of the main advantages of the plates were that they protected the Korean oarsmen and sailors from arquebus fire and arrows. The spikes meant to discourage Japanese sailors to board the ships because the Japanese used the primary method of grappling an enemy ship with hooks and boarding it to engage in hand to hand combat.
Korean written descriptions all point to a maneuverable ship, capable of sudden bursts of speed. Like the panokseon, the Turtle Ship was a U-shaped bottomed ship which gave it the advantage of a more stable cannon firing platform and the ability to turn within its own ratio. The main disadvantage of a U-shaped bottom versus a V-shaped bottom is a somewhat slower cruising speed.
Unlike popular belief, it must be noted that there were around only 3 to 6 Turtle Ships in the Korean Navy during the Seven-Year War while the mainstay of the Korean Navy was the panokseon warship which was roughly the equal size of the Turtle Ship. This was because the effective tactical use of the Turtle Ships as well as the heavy resources necessary to build them.
Notes on iron cladding
The Turtle Ship is considered to be one of the first (if not the first) ironclad warships in the world. It had armor covering the top of the ship, which protected the oarsmen and the other crew. There has been debate as to whether or not the Turtle Ship really had iron cladding. Korean tradition strongly supports iron cladding and Japanese written documents clearly describe the Turtle Ships as "covered in iron." Furthermore, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had a written request sent to Tokugawa Ieyasu for iron plating to "counter" the Korean navy, which could be taken as strong circumstantial evidence.
The armor was hexagonal iron platings with sharp spikes protruding from them. This was to counter the widely used Japanese attack method of boarding an enemy ship after grappling it with hooks and killing the enemy soldiers with melee weapons. It is also interesting to note that Admiral Yi had the spikes covered with hay to hide the spikes so that the Japanese soldiers would be injured during their attempts to board the ship.
The Turtle Ships were crucial in securing victory in several sea battles such as the Battle of Sacheon, Battle of Noryang Point, and Battle of Myeongnyang. The Turtle Ships inflicted heavy losses upon the Japanese fleet and eventually forced the Japanese to withdraw back to Japan. In every single battle that Admiral Yi fought, he never lost a single naval battle, lost a very minimal number of soldiers, and at the end of the war, hundreds of Japanese ships sank and thousands of Japanese soldiers died.
Function of the dragon head
The position of the dragon head was placed on the top of the ship in the front. There were several different versions of the dragon head on the Turtle Ships. The dragon head was first placed as an early form of psychological warfare to shock Japanese soldiers. One version carried a tube which could release a dense toxic smoke that was generated from a mixture of sulphur and saltpetre produced in the bowels of the ship. The smoke was designed to obscure the vision and poison the enemy soldiers.[1] Another version had a cannon placed in its mouth so that the ship would appear to be more threatening.
Admiral Yi's own diary explains that a cannon could be fitted in the mouth of the dragon to be fired at enemy ships.[2]
Tactical use
Due to the iron platings the Turtle Ship could take heavy damage from enemy cannons, although the Japanese almost never used cannons on their ships because their ships were too weak to support the recoil of the cannon blasts. Also, as already mentioned, the iron platings countered arquebuse bullets and arrows as well.
The Turtle Ship was first designed as a close assault vessel, intended to ram enemy ships and sinking them. It was first used to row directly into enemy ship formations and disrupt their lines. After ramming, the Turtle Ship would unleash a broadside of cannonballs around its entire area. Because of this tactic, the Japanese called the Turtle Ship the mekurabune (目蔵船), or "blind ships," because they would get close and seemingly blast and ram into enemy ships.
With the iron platings, the Turtle Ship also became a great anti-boarding vessel. Since there were hardly any enemy cannons to counter with, there were hardly any options to match the Turtle Ship with.
One of the most effective ways of using the Turtle Ships was spearheading attacks or ambushes in tight areas such as the Battle of Noryang. Another great use of the vessel was to unnerve the enemy. Any enemy soldier that never encountered the ship would be shocked and scared. This made the enemy perform worse than usual.
Modern Portrayal
Games
Turtle Ships were a featured unique unit for the Korean civilization in the computer game Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion. The game featured a scenario in which the player commands Admiral Lee Sun-sin's fleet against the Japanese armada, a reenactment of the Battle of Noryang Point. They also appear in an Aztec campaign as an easter egg: The player will find a few Turtle Ships in a corner of the map. A mod in Civilization III Play the World and Civilization III: Conquests introduced Turtle Ships as well, they also exist in the Admiral Lee Campaign of Empires: Dawn of the Modern World. They were best used in their historical manner; not on the high seas where their enemies could outmaneuver and out range them, but in defense in a smaller area, such as rivers or small lakes.
In Empires: Dawn of the Modern World, the Turtle Ships are introduced as a powerful ship that turn the tide of battles against the Japanese. In single player and multiplayer modes, a player may choose to be Korea and build Turtle Ships. Turtle Ships in Empires, unlike Age of Empires II, are not slow or have inferior range. In the game, the Turtle Ships can shoot a massive broadside on an enemy ship. How a player can use turtle ships is a lot less accurate than Age of Empires II but its importance is emphasized in the campaign.
In Pirates of the Burning Sea, a sea based MMORPG set in the Caribbean, also features a Turtle Ship.
Reconstructions
Gau-Book-Saun Yaun-Goo-Won (거북선연구원)[3] has done much research on the original design of the Turtle Ship; and made several real-size reconstructions of them for commercial use. Models of the Turtle Ship are popular for decoration or a gift.
No modern naval ship has been named "Turtle Ship" or "Gau-Book-Saun" (in Korean), but KDX-II Chungmugong Yi Sunshin class destroyer, but Korea's new KDX-II class battle ship operational since 2003 is named "Chungmugong Yi SunShin".
Notes
^ The first account is in the Annals of King Taejong, Year 13, early in the 5th lunar month. ^ "Admiral Yi Soon-shin and the Turtle Ship". Retrieved 2006-01-11.
References
See also
- Battle of Noryang
- Battle of Okpo
- Battle of Hansando
- Battle of Haengju
- Seven Year War
- Ship replica (including a list of ship replicas)
- List of Korea-related topics
- Military history of Korea
- History of Korea
- Singijeon
- Hwacha
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi